Body Parts Idioms as Linguistic Tool for Polite Communication among the Nzema

The paper examines body parts idioms as politeness strategy in
Nzema communication. Figurative devices such as proverbs and euphemisms
have received quite an appreciable amount of study in connection with verbal
politeness in Nzema. Little or no attention however has been given to idioms,
particularly their communicative functions in the language. This paper seeks to
discuss the communicative functions of some body parts related idioms in Nzema
with special focus on idiomatic expressions involving the limbs, the body/skin,
the heart/chest and the stomach that are used in daily discourse. The analysis is
based on primary data obtained through participant and non-participant
observation. The data comprise audio recordings of traditional arbitration and
everyday conversations among the Nzema. The paper demonstrates that, these
culturally constructed body parts related idioms are deliberately employed to
avoid any straightforward language that seeks to undermine and threaten the face
of an addressee and also serve as politeness device for the speaker. The paper
draws on Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory.